Biden's visit to Ukraine is not extraordinary for Russia, says Kremlin

Russian Politics & Diplomacy February 21, 2023, 16:18

Dmitry Peskov stressed that Moscow nevertheless had been "closely monitoring" the American leader's visit to Kiev and would keep a close eye on Biden's events in Poland on Tuesday

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden's visit to Ukraine is not an extraordinary event for Russia that can influence domestic Russian affairs, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a Channel One TV broadcast on Tuesday.

"I don't think that for us the visit of the US president even to Ukraine is some kind of extraordinary event that can affect our domestic affairs," the Kremlin spokesman said when asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin had to make changes to his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly in connection with Biden's visit to Ukraine.

"Let us remain sovereign and not pay attention to anything. Let us continue to consider that the main priority for us is ourselves and our agenda," Peskov added.

He stressed that Moscow nevertheless had been "closely monitoring" the American leader's visit to Kiev and would keep a close eye on Biden's events in Poland on Tuesday. "Although with a high degree of probability we can assume that it will be a continuation of the concentration of Russophobia and mutual persuasion of new arms supplies and a new escalaltion of tension," the Kremlin spokesman said. Against this background, he urged "to focus on our goals, our objectives, our capabilities, and our potential."

Biden visited Kiev on Monday, and the visit was not only unannounced, but was kept secret until the last minute. From February 20 to 22, the US president is visiting Poland and will meet with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda and the leaders of the Bucharest Nine (Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Estonia).

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